75-year-old hiker reported missing on Sunday found alive on Mt. Baldy
Rescue personnel on Tuesday reported that they have located a hiker who was reported missing in the Mt. Baldy area.
The hiker, North Hollywood-resident Jin Chung, 75, was first reported missing on Sunday, in the same spot where rescue crews were already searching for Julian Sands, the missing British actor who had set out to hike the area on Jan. 13.
San Bernardino County firefighters reported that he was found on the side of the mountain and was able to walk out with the help of rescuers. They said that Chung appeared to be in good spirits, but that he had suffered some element-related issues.
He was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Chung was last seen at 6 a.m. Saturday morning before heading to the San Gabriel Mountains for his hike. He had initially set out with a group, carpooling to the area but going their separate ways for the hike before planning on returning to the car at around 2 p.m.
However, he never returned to the car and the hikers did not hear from him after.
Prior to his location, Chung was one of three men missing after hiking in the popular mountain range, along with Sands and Hawthorne-resident Bob Gregory, 61, who was reported missing on Jan. 13 as well near Mt. Islip.
"As of this time, Mr. Sands has not been found and no evidence of his current location has been discovered," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. "The search will continue, weather and ground conditions permitting."
The location where Gregory went missing falls into the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, who are also diligently searching for the missing man.
"We're looking at cellphone forensics, cellphone pings and we're looking at his planned hike that he planned to take," said LASD Search and Rescue team member Mike Leum, who noted that treacherous conditions are making both searches much more difficult. "You have deep snow, snow that has turned to ice. You have high winds and all of these work against you."
Mt. Baldy is 10,064 feet tall, and currently covered in snow after a series of powerful storms doused Southern California.
